Saving Rain

by Karen-Anne Stewart

  Kas and his team finish debriefing as Chase steps out of one of the interrogation rooms. He slaps Kas on the back, causing him to coil his fist. Kas forces himself to not take the swing, not wanting to break his best friend’s nose.

  Chase sees the pained expression on his friends face, “Sorry, man, you hurt?”

  “The trafficker Claudia called El Diablo unleashed a little of his wrath on me tonight,” Kas explains, rubbing his sore shoulder.

  Chase studies Kas, “Seriously, bro, are you alright?”

  “Nothing a hot shower and a few days won’t heal,” Kas assures him.

  A satisfied grin spreads across his centerfold face, “Does Raina know you got Claudia’s trafficker?”

  “No, I want to tell her in person. She can use some good news right now.”

  Concern fills Chase’s eyes again, “Why, what’s going on?”

  “Sutton’s harassing her. I made a call to our friend Pete, he’s going to check into it. But Sutton’s playing it safe, not doing anything overtly illegal.”

  “How’s Raina holding up?”

  “Minimizing everything, as usual, that girl is stubborn. She’s exhausted, burning the candle at both ends, and won’t listen to reason. She keeps saying she is fine, trying to shoulder everything on her own.” Kas rakes his hand through his hair, not attempting to hide his blazing frustration.

  “Looks like you can use a good night’s sleep yourself.”

  Kas nods, again not trying to feign the truth from Chase, knowing it won’t do any good anyway. Chase is just as trained as he is in reading people.

  Chase lightly taps Kas’ other arm, “Take care of yourself, man, call me if you need me.” He gives Kas a pointed look, “I mean it.”

  Kas nods again, appreciating their close friendship that’s been more like brotherhood since they were young kids, “Go take care of the girls, I’ll shout at you if needed.”

  Frank walks up, nodding to Chase as he heads into another interrogation room. “Hey, boss, we’re going to Moe’s to celebrate.”

  Kas shakes his head, “I’m going to skip this one.”

  “Oh, c’mon, you’ve got to go, besides, the rookie’s all wound up, he could use this.”

  Kas glances across the room at his team, seeing Jake’s demeanor no more wound up than the rest of them. He has monitored each man on his team closely after every raid; he’s on top of when one of his men’s stress is at a level requiring his intervention. “Jake’s doing fine, and after being with us for a year, I think you need to drop the rookie comments before he calls you on it,” Kas laughs at Frank.

  “Alright, then I’m asking for you to go. One drink, then we’ll let you go back to who you’re really wanting to be with right now,” Frank gives him a knowing wink.

  Kas inwardly sighs. He really just wants to sit with Raina and have a quiet evening soothing his wounds with her healing presence, but he’s the team leader, and they all just put their lives on the line again tonight. He owes them one drink. “Alright, I’ll go for one.”

  Raina lays her pencil down and smiles, relieved that her finals are over and feeling confident that she did well. The toll of the past few weeks has left her emotionally weak and physically drained. She dreams of grabbing takeout and snuggling up with Kas on the couch before passing out for at least twelve hours.

  Grabbing her purse, she checks her cell, and her smile widens as she reads the text Kas must have sent her during the exam. Hope u r kicking butt on ur last final, I know u r going 2 do great. I’ll b done here n a couple of hrs, c u soon. Raina throws her bag over her shoulder and heads out the door, beyond ready for a break. Being sure to stay with a group of other students, she leaves the building and heads towards her car. Relief fills her when she sees no sign of Mr. Sutton.

  Waving to Seth and Sara, Raina grabs her keys and slides into her car. She cranks the ignition and starts to pull out of the parking area but jerks to a stop when she feels the rough thumping of her tires trying to roll over the asphalt. Raina throws the door open and jumps out of the car. Her final thread of self-reserve breaks when she sees the air has been let out of her tires.

  Grabbing her purse, she slams the door, fuming as she scans the parking area. Raina knows exactly who did this, and he has just pushed her way too far this time. She sprints to the bus stop and bangs on the doors as they are beginning to shut. The bus driver opens the door, giving her an exasperated glare as she climbs the stairs. Raina ignores the rude look, thrusting the fare and taking a seat, retribution dancing in her fatigued mind.

  Feeling foolish for giving Mr. Sutton the benefit of the doubt, thinking he was just temporarily overwhelmed by his son going to jail when he hatefully accosted her at the court house, she isn’t fooled any longer. Too many men have hurt her, controlled her, and dominated her. She is fed up with being a helpless target, and Mr. Sutton has pushed her too far, she won’t allow him to push her around a minute longer.

  As the bus doors open, an eerie calm settles over Raina, giving her the edge she needs to stand up to Mr. Sutton, to let him know that she’s done with his twisted games. Stepping off the bus, she doesn’t miss a beat as she heads straight for the bar. Knowing it’s either the exhaustion affecting her, or possibly that she has finally lost her grip with reality, but Raina feels invincible when her eyes find Mr. Sutton’s, and she almost sashays towards him.

  A satisfied smile tilts the corners of her lips as she watches with amusement, the surprised shock that washes over his face. She reaches the bar and leans casually against it, her gaze never leaving his. She watches as Mr. Sutton hands some kind of mixed concoction to a middle aged businessman relaxing before heading home. Placing her hands flat on top of the polished wooden bar top, she leans in even closer, until Mr. Sutton is forced to acknowledge her presence. She feels the stares of men with obvious high hopes roaming over her. Any other day, she would feel completely out of her element in the overly crowded bar that is full of patrons from every pay bracket. She watches as they down spirits and ogle women they have never met and probably will never remember their names in the light of the early dawn.

  She knows that Mr. Sutton is a genius in the business realm, with restaurants and bars ranging from elegant and swanky with the elite socialites inhabiting the premises nightly, to the brazen and just slightly above seedy, that harbors the questionable clientele that are just as much regulars as their wealthy counterparts.

  One of the braver men leans on the bar next to her, “Can I buy you a drink, honey?”

  Raina glances at her admirer who is looking everywhere at her but her face. She holds her hand up, letting him know that under no uncertain terms, whatever he is thinking about her will not be happening tonight. The man mutters something Raina is sure isn’t pleasantries as he gives her another lusty once-over and walks away, his ego tucked dejectedly between his legs. She turns her attention back to Mr. Sutton who has regained his composure and his glacial patent stare.

  “Sweetheart, I think you might be a little too young to be in here.”

  Raina inwardly gags at how the word ‘sweetheart’ sounds so nauseating coming from his lips, so polar opposite to how it sounds when Kas calls her that. “And, I think you are too old to be playing childish games,” she counters.

  Sutton’s cold stare turns to blazing fire, “I have no idea what you are talking about, sweetheart, now show me your ID, or I’ll show you the door.”

  Raina knows she has rattled him and has also gathered the attention of the patrons sitting nearby, which she uses to her advantage. “So, I see you have added stalking and damaging personal property to your repertoire. You’re a businessman, so let’s put this in terms that you will understand. You back off now, and I will let this go, all forgiven and forgotten, but if you don’t, then I will visit every single one of the establishments you own, bringing some of my friends who are very proud to display their badges and who love to ask lots of questions.”

  Raina can tell by his bared teeth that he un
derstands she is letting him know that two can play his game and that she is determined to come out the winner. “I’m betting that it won’t take more than a couple of nights before your friends no longer want to play with my friends and they go home, finding other establishments to provide their entertainment.”

  The fury in his glare is practically tangible as he leans in close to her, hissing “Are you threatening me, you little witch?”

  Raina holds his gaze, unwavering. “I never threaten, I find it demeaning,” she replies unnervingly calm. She sees one of the bartenders on the phone, looking her way. Realizing she probably only has minutes before the cops arrive, she doesn’t waste anytime mincing words, “The ball is in your court, Mr. Sutton, play nice, or I promise you won’t like the end score.”

  The murderous glint in his eyes makes Raina fully aware that if the bar wasn’t between them, and there weren’t seventy or so witnesses, he would take immense joy in throttling her right now. She knows that she needs to back off and get out of there, but she is way beyond the point of caring, so unremittingly exasperated with men like him. She gives him a final warning glare as she turns to go before her bravado gives way, and her false sense of invincibility shatters.

  “You deserved everything you got!” Raina hears Mr. Sutton yell after her, knowing he’s referring to Chris’ brutality, and her calm demeanor explodes to fervent vehemence. Spinning around, she grabs the fruity concoction out of the hand of the startled businessman who has been intently listening to their every word and throws the remaining liquid straight into Mr. Sutton’s face before she spins back around and storms out of the door.

  There are two uniformed officers that meet her just outside, and her flaring temper starts to dissipate as the reality of what she just did sinks in. She has never done anything like that before, and part of her wants to jump up and down, pumping her arm victoriously in the air, but the other part of her feels ambivalent towards her actions. Looking into the serious faces of the officers, Raina can guess which part of her they are siding with right now.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kas takes off his gun strap and places it inside the safe. He groans as he sheds his flannel shirt, his body aching from the tumble he had with the piece of slime, El Diablo. He’s bone tired and starving, his stomach growls, echoing his thoughts as he slides off his belt, tossing it over the back of the couch. He didn’t stay at Moe’s any longer than it took him to have half of one drink before laying a $100.00 bill down and telling his team to celebrate, but not too much, before he headed home. He’s beat and wants to take a hot shower. “Rain, I’m home,” he yells through the house but doesn’t get a response.

  The house is too quiet, and there’s no delicious aroma wafting through the air, drawing him into the kitchen that usually welcomes him when he comes home. Checking his watch, he realizes Raina should’ve been home a half-hour ago. A sharp knock on his door interrupts his thoughts, and he rubs his tired eyes as he peeks through the side window to see a cop waiting on the other side, and his stomach does a free fall.

  The officer shows his badge, then pulls a sheepish-looking Raina into view. Kas is wide awake now as he opens the door.

  “We found her in a bar downtown. She was in a verbal altercation with the owner, and she’s underage,” the officer explains.

  Kas glares at her, his eyes simmering with anger ready to boil at any moment. “The bar on Fifth?” he asks the officer through his teeth.

  “That’s the one. When we talked with her outside of the bar, and she told me that she is consulting with the FBI, we didn’t haul her in,” he explains, then looks pointedly at Raina, “but no matter who you’re working for, you’re still underage, and that’s no place for you to be alone.” The officer turns his attention back to Kas, “She said she was going to catch a cab, but I told her I would drop her off here. It was a pretty heated argument, and I wanted to be sure she didn’t head back in there after we left.”

  “I’ll take it from here, officer, thank you,” Kas assures him as he pushes the door open wider and jerks his head, silently demanding her to get inside.

  Raina jumps at the sound of the door slamming behind her.

  Kas storms towards her, his outrage at her dangerous stunt barely contained. “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?” he yells acidly as he closes in on her.

  Her eyes shoot to Kas. His rage is palpable.

  “You could’ve gotten yourself hurt!” he seethes. “For someone so smart, how could you do something so damn stupid?” he castigates while he tries to tame his conflicting emotions. He wants to set her down and give her the tongue lashing of her life, but mostly he wants to pull her into the safety of his arms and never let go.

  Raina bristles at his sharp tone, “He let the air out of my tires.”

  “And you thought you should go talk to him...ALONE?” he fumes.

  “I wasn’t alone, and it’s not like he could’ve done anything in a room full of people,” Raina retorts dryly.

  “Did it ever occur to you that he could’ve followed you out?” he asks incredulously.

  “Of course it did, I’m not an idiot, despite your obvious current opinion. I wasn’t going to just stay out in the dark on my own,” she replies, belligerence edging her words.

  “So, what exactly was your plan, then?” he asks sarcastically.

  Raina juts her chin out and shrugs. “I was working on one before officer Do Little came along,” she spits out.

  “You have a real smart mouth when you’re pissed off, you know that?”

  Raina smells the faint scent of alcohol on his breath, and her subconscious instincts kick in, and she takes a step away from him. “We’ve both had a real crappy night, granted, yours I’m sure has been much worse than mine, so can we just talk about this in the morning?” her words rush out exhaustedly, and she turns to walk away, but he grabs her arm in a firm but gentle grasp.

  “Don’t even think about walking away from me right now, Raina!” Kas warns her.

  She feels his hand stopping her at the same time she sees the belt on the back of the couch, and she freezes.

  Seeing the look of panic flash in her eyes, Kas follows her gaze to his belt. Without thinking, he grabs the belt and starts to toss it aside, wanting to remove anything that would cause her to fear him.

  When Raina sees Kas grab the belt, the familiar sense of crippling dread seeps through her veins. Her stomach tightens, and a thin sheen of sweat breaks out on her skin. In the back of her mind, a war begins to wage between rationality telling her that Kas would never hurt her and her experiences from the past, but when she sees the anger on his face and the belt in his hand, her father’s words echo cruelly inside her head, ‘You deserve this’.

  Her heart shatters into a million tiny pieces, and for an instant, all rational thought ceases to exist, and she feels savagely empty.

  “Oh no, baby, no!” Kas’ heart sinks when he sees her tense from fear. He swears at himself for being so stupid. He thinks of how she has come such a long way, holding her own when they’ve fussed in the past. He knows that he has never yelled at her like this before tonight and how foolishly grabbing the belt without explaining his intentions, would of course push her over the edge.

  His breath leaves him just as if someone had punched him hard in the gut. His cheeks flame with anger at the men that caused her to fear like this. Unbearable grief swallows him at the realization that she still harbors fear that he might strike her. The thought nauseates him, he would sooner cut off his hand than use it to hurt her. He steps towards her, to comfort her, but she quickly takes a step back, the fear in her widened eyes nearly destroying him. The next emotion he witnesses literally causes him physical pain, searing his heart, as he sees her forlorn resignation, then dark, cold emptiness.

  “Baby, no!” he pleads. “I’m not going to hurt you,” his tone is soothing as if he’s trying to calm a wild animal. “I’m simply removing things that make you nervous,” he continues to explain wh
ile tossing the offensive implement far to the side.

  With the belt out of easy reach, Kas sees her body relax somewhat, and a spark of relief begins to warm her eyes. But he sees something else there, too...confusion. “You thought that I was going to punish you,” he states bitterly, biting back disgust from what the understanding of that word must mean to her.

  Her cheeks flame red again, and he’s sure it’s shame causing the scarlet flush. He fights the bile threatening to rise in his throat from her unspoken confession that he had elicited this kind of fear from her. He pulls her into his arms, desperately wanting to wash away all of her fear, her memories of pain and sorrow, to wipe the emotional slate clean, and show her how it is supposed to be. Red hot anger ignites in him when he feels her body trembling as he holds her in his arms. Guilt consumes him from his carelessness. His rubs his hands soothingly up and down her trembling back until her shaking starts to subside.

  “Oh, baby, what did he do to you?” he whispers as he lays soft kisses against her hair. Kas continues to hold her, wishing he could show her his heart, prove to her that no matter how angry he gets, he would never cause her harm. Gently, he pushes her away from him and cups her face in his hands. He softly caresses her face with his thumbs as he promises, “I will never hurt you, not with my hands, not with a belt, not with anything else, nor will I ever want to.”

  Raina struggles to regain her composure. As the marching band in her chest slows to a calmer pace, she pulls herself away.

  Kas studies her face, his gaze sweeping over her with worry. “We’ve got to talk about this, Raina.”

  At the sound of his words, she pulls herself together, slamming the door on her emotions. “No, you agreed to drop it.”

  “I agreed to drop it for a while, Rain, but after what just happened, I can’t just let it go anymore.”